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Schagen
:For a surname, see van Schagen replica of Noah's Ark in the town of Schagen.]] Schagen ( ) is a town and municipality in the northwestern Netherlands. It is located between Alkmaar and Den Helder, in and region of West Friesland and the province of North Holland. In 2007, Schagen had 19.078 residents. It received city rights in 1415. History Schagen has been mentioned in various texts from around 975. One of them was a population count that found that 43 people were living there. Schagen was also mentioned in documents as Scagha from around 989. At this time Schagen was a center of artificial dwelling hills. Perhaps the name refers to Scagha to its location above land water: it could mean "elevated point". Some time later, there is a coastline near Schagen. When the sea retreated again at the end of the 13th century the places in the region grew. The land around Schagen was especially fertile, so it grew and remained the main town in the area. William VI granted in 1415 city rights to the town. In 1427 Philip the Good of Burgundy loaned Schagen to his uncle William of Bronckhorst, one of the seven illegal children of Albrecht of Bavaria, and to Maria van Bronckhorst. Schagen became a fief with some regional rights in addition to its city rights, including some control over the small towns around Schagen. William ordered the castle in which he lived from 1440. In 1460 the church of Schagen, dedicated to St. Christopher, was consecrated. In 1463 Schagen received the right to hold a cattle market and became a trading town for a wider region. From 1603 an annual horse market was held in Schagen, upon authorization by the States of Holland and Westfriesland. At the beginning of the Golden Age Schagen underwent very little growth, unlike other cities in the region: Alkmaar, Enkhuizen, Medemblik, and Hoorn. Later in the Golden Age the city benefited from the increased prosperity, but never to the degree these other cities enjoyed. Even after the Golden Age growth was limited. Partly due to the reclamation of the surrounding area, Schagen could flourish economically again in the 19th century. In particular, the cattle market played an important role. When in 1865 the railroad between Alkmaar and Den Helder came into use, the market and home industries flourished. Schagen had about 2060 inhabitants at this time. In 1894 Schagen was schocked by a double murder, when 17-year old Klaas Boes murdered his 55-year old neighbor and her 17-year old niece. The murder attracted wide national media attention and caused the murderer's mother to commit suicide. In 1895 Klaas Boes was sentenced to life imprisonment, but this was later changed to 25 years. For years to come, "Klaas Boes" remained a stereotypical name in the Netherlands for youngsters who were up to no good. Newly appointed mayor Simon Berman headed a committee that would pay 750 guilders, donated by the residents, for the golden tip, conducted several interrogations, and received praise for the way he handled the affair. Klaas Boes was released from prison in 1922 and died in 1956. During the 20th century prosperity decreased slowly. Especially after the Second World there was a sharp decline in the agricultural sector. As Schagen did not only depended on agriculture, the decline was less than in surrounding rural communities. Around 1960 Schagen started to flourish again, though population was still below 5,000. The seventies were a large boom for Schagen. In the early nineties, the growth gradually diminished but Schagen remained relatively strong compared to neighboring nuclei and municipalities. From 2005 to 2007, Schagen resident Johan Huibers built a replica of Noah's Ark in Schagen. Johan's Ark was opened to the public in April 2007 and later towed between various port cities in the Netherlands. In 2007 Schagen proper had about 19,000 inhabitants. Transportation At Schagen railway station Intercity trains stop, providing good connectivity with Den Helder to the North and Alkmaar, Amsterdam to the South. From Amsterdam Centraal these Intercity trains continue trough Utrecht Centraal either to Eindhoven and Maastricht or to Arnhem and Nijmegen. The journey time to Amsterdams Centraal is 1 hour. The railway station is Schagen's hub for local and regional bus services. Municipal council The municipal council of Schagen consists of 17 seats, which are divided as follows: * PvdA - 5 seats * VVD - 5 seats * CDA - 3 seats * Socialist Party - 2 seats * Duurzaam Schagen - 2 seats References }} * Statistics are taken from the SDU Staatscourant External links *City Site (English) *A map of Schagen (Dutch) *A map of the entire municipality (Dutch) Category:Schagen Category:Municipalities of North Holland Category:Settlements in North Holland